Arts Innovator: Favianna Rodriguez
Speaking out against injustice is nothing new for Favianna Rodriguez. In high school, the Oakland native led marches and walk-outs against California’s Proposition 187, a ballot initiative that prohibited undocumented immigrants from accessing state services. Today, Rodriguez’ butterfly imagery, together with the slogan “migration is beautiful,” has become a national symbol for the immigration reform … Read more
Monday Memo: Venezuela Protests – Haiti Elections – Caribbean Energy – AT&T – Brazil Olympics
This week’s likely top stories: Venezuelan opposition leaders halt protests in Caracas; Haiti swears in its nine-member Provisional Electoral Council; the U.S. hosts the first-ever Caribbean Energy Security Summit; AT&T acquires Nextel Mexico; Rio’s environment secretary announces that Guanabara Bay will not be clean in time for the 2016 Olympic Games. Opposition Curbs Protests in … Read more
Is This The Return of Barack Obama?
If there is one thing consistent about President Barack Obama, it’s his ability to defy the odds. His nomination over Hillary Clinton in 2008 and his eventual election as president made history. His seventh State of the Union speech, delivered on Tuesday, clearly showed his intention to resist any lame-duck status as he enters the … Read more
Vanguard U.S. Congressional Delegation Amid Talks in Cuba
On Saturday, Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vermont) led the first official congressional delegation to Cuba since the restoration of diplomatic ties with the Caribbean island nation on December 17. Leahy’s office stated that the objective of the trip is to “seek clarity from the Cubans on what they envision normalization to look like, going beyond … Read more
U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments Publish New Regulations on Cuba
Today, the U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments published their revised regulations on travel to and trade with Cuba, following President Barack Obama’s historic December announcement of restored diplomatic relations with the island after over half a century of hostilities. Effective January 16, these changes mark the first practical steps in delivering on Obama’s executive action. … Read more
Monday Memo: Haiti Deadlock – Cuba Prisoners – PEMEX – U.S. Gay Marriage – China and CELAC
This week’s likely top stories: Haiti attempts to negotiate its way out of political deadlock; Cuba frees 53 political prisoners, holding up its end of the rapprochement deal with U.S.; Mexico cuts funding to PEMEX causing major oil sector layoffs; the U.S. Supreme court declines to review a challenge to Louisiana’s gay marriage ban; China … Read more
Mario Cuomo: Poetry and Prose in Politics
The phrase “campaigning in poetry and governing in prose” was coined by the late and former New York governor, Mario Cuomo. In the interests of full disclosure, I have been an admirer of Mario Cuomo ever since he gave the keynote address at the 1984 Democratic National Convention. Since he passed away on January 1, … Read more
Monday Memo: Panama Canal – Venezuela Diplomacy – 114th U.S. Congress – Guatemala Trial – Uruguay Elections
This week’s likely top stories: the Panama Canal gears up to expand its Pacific coast facilities; Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro travels to China and OPEC countries; the 114th U.S. Congress starts its session on Tuesday with a Republican majority and plenty of hot button issues for the Americas; the trial of Guatemalan General Efraín Ríos … Read more
ACLU and HRW Call for Special Prosecutor to Investigate CIA
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday asked the U.S. Justice Department to designate a special prosecutor to examine the CIA’s use of torture as well as other illegal measures when questioning terrorism suspects. Just two weeks ago, the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report about the use of … Read more
Monday Memo: Haiti – Nicaragua Canal – Oil – Petrobras Scandal – Guantánamo
This week’s likely top stories: Florence Duperval Guillaume is named Haiti’s interim prime minister; farmers set up blockades to protest the Nicaraguan canal; Saudis tell non-OPEC producers to reduce output; Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff says she will not replace Petrobras CEO; Four more prisoners are released from Guantánamo. Interim Haitian Prime Minister Named: Haitian Health … Read more
Why Jeb Bush Is a Serious Candidate
With 2014 drawing to a close, speculation will soon turn to the 2016 Presidential race in the United States. The Republicans will hold control over both houses of Congress come January, and will offer a wide array of potential candidates lining up for a White House run. With President Barack Obama leaving the White House, … Read more
Cuba Releases Alan Gross on Humanitarian Grounds
Cuba released 65-year-old former U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contractor Alan Gross from prison today on humanitarian grounds, paving the way for normalizing relations between the U.S. and Cuba. Gross was sentenced to 15 years in prison for alleged espionage after he was arrested in December 2009 for bringing satellite equipment to Cuba. This … Read more
Monday Memo: Colombia FARC Amnesty— Haiti Prime Minister — Argentina Railway — Venezuela PetroCaribe — U.S. Police Brutality
This week’s likely top stories: Colombians march against possible amnesty for FARC; Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamonthe steps down; Chinese railroad company wins $275 million in orders from Argentina; Venezuela seeks to expand PetroCaribe despite its fragile economic situation; Thousands gather across the U.S. in anti-police brutality protests. Uribe Leads Protest Against Possible FARC Amnesty: … Read more
Feinstein, McCain and Cheney React to CIA Torture
It has been said that the United States is capable of the best and the worst. The Senate Intelligence Committee report, with its content on CIA detention and interrogation practices after the September 11, 2001 attacks, can be construed as an expression of the dark side of the world’s oldest and most durable democracy. Making … Read more
U.S. Senate Sanctions Venezuela on Human Rights
The U.S. Senate approved a bill on Monday that would impose sanctions on Venezuelan officials found responsible for violating demonstrators’ rights during anti-government protests that left more than 40 dead and 800 injured since February. The Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act authorizes sanctions that would freeze assets and ban visas of … Read more
